The Greenwood Rumors
by BandJLuvr
Summary: Jade and Emerald Greenwood love each other very much, but misunderstandings threaten to separate them...


Emerald Greenwood smiled. She liked her hometown, the lazy, laid-back town of Twinbrook. She liked school, and was not at a loss for friends—she even claimed one or two in her sister Jade's circle. She and Jade got along well, even considering they had to share a room. Especially comforting was the bedtime ritual they shared of Jade sitting on the edge of her bed and sharing a favorite bedtime story to help her go to sleep, after which she'd get up and lean in to kiss her on the forehead. "Good night, sis," she'd whisper. "I love you."

Then one morning, it seemed like any other morning: the family showered, dressed, and had a quick bite to eat in preparation for their day. Oliver and Holly smiled lovingly upon their girls. They were destined for BFF-dom, it seemed. The bus came and the girls left for school with a cheery "Goodbye" on their lips.

When they arrived, they heard the singsong taunting of their friends, most likely about their eco-friendly lifestyle. "They're doing it again," Emerald whispered, cowering behind Jade.

Jade just laughed it off. "Don't worry about it," she tried to reassure her. The morning bell rang, and the crowd started dispersing. But Emerald wasn't about to go to class yet.

"You'll be late," Jade said, managing to pry Emerald off her and gently prodding her in the direction of the elementary school. "Now go!" Jade said this a little more harshly than she had intended, and Emerald just ran off to her class, while Jade headed to hers.

Unbeknownst to them, someone had been listening. It was Kay Pebble, the Greenwoods' on-call babysitter and Jade's best friend. She had her suspicions about what had just happened…

At lunchtime, everyone was laughing, talking, and eating their food. Kay was sitting with a few of her friends, discussing the morning's activities. "Did you hear what happened between Jade and Emerald?" she whispered. "Such a pity, I thought they got along swimmingly." She shook her head. "Sometimes I wonder if they even love each other."

A collective gasp went around the table. Even among the high school crowd, it was hard not to notice Jade and Emerald's beautiful relationship.

If only they had seen little Emerald, cutting across the high school section to dispose of her lunch. The tears were welling in her eyes as she cleared her tray and set it on the nearby pile. _Doesn't Jade love me anymore? _she thought, as she ran back in the direction of the school building.

If only she had heard Kay's response: "Just kidding! Those two are destined to be BFF's, and I know it!"

Since Jade had some extra-curricular errands to do, it didn't bother Emerald a bit. She sat on the bench where she usually met Jade and put her head in her hands. Why didn't Jade love her anymore? What had she ever done? Was there some hidden agenda that Jade never told her about?

By the time Jade came out, Emerald sighed, grabbed her backpack, and slung it over her shoulders as they started the trek home.

When they got home, Holly was there waiting for them. "Hi, girls," she said. "How was school?"

Neither of the girls responded, as they both hunkered down to homework, trying not to catch each other's eye. Holly sighed. This was unusual—by this time, they were virtual chatterboxes, trying to outdo each other in summarizing their day. She said nothing, but went to the kitchen and prepared a plate of cookies and poured them each a small glass of milk to drink while doing their homework.

By the time Oliver came home, homework was done, milk and cookies were eaten, dishes cleared, but the one thing that hadn't cleared was the tension in the air between Jade and Emerald.

"Honey," Holly confided to Oliver when they were out of the girls' earshot, "I'm worried about the girls."

"What makes you say that?"

"They don't seem to be getting along as well as they usually do," Holly sighed. "I haven't seen their usual bedtime routine in ages."

"If something doesn't clear up soon," Oliver promised, "we'll just have a little chat with the girls."

That night, the girls got ready for bed in silence. Jade was humming as she showered, pulled on her nightclothes, and went to bed, but Emerald took her own sweet time. When she finally pulled herself into bed, she heaved a heavy sigh, turned over, and tried to get some rest.

She tried to focus on happy things to help her sleep, but the events of that day at lunch overshadowed them. She could still hear Kay's words:

"_Sometimes I wonder if they even love each other."_

Tears rolled down her face, and she held on to her blanket for dear life. She attempted to hold back the sobs, but it was too late—she was sobbing as if her heart would break—which she indeed thought it was.

The sobbing woke Jade, and she rushed over to Emerald's bed. "Emerald?" She shook Emerald gently in an effort to wake her up. "Wake up—you're having a nightmare."

Emerald woke with a start, still clutching the blanket to her. When she saw Jade, stroking her forehead and smiling gently upon her, she wondered if she was still dreaming."J-Jade?"

"I'm right here, sweetie," Jade whispered, taking her in her arms and gently rocking her back and forth, as she used to do when they were younger—Jade as a child and Emerald as a toddler.

"Y-you do love me?" Emerald was almost afraid to ask.

Jade looked at her incredulously. "Of course I do," she replied, almost laughing. "Where'd you hear such a silly assumption?"

Emerald looked into her eyes, took a deep breath, and whispered, "Miss Kay."

This took Jade totally by surprise. "Miss Kay? Your babysitter?"

Emerald could only nod as she collapsed into Jade's arms and sobbed again.

This grieved Jade no end. She thought Kay and Emerald were getting along almost as well as they did—that was why she'd been assigned as the on-call babysitter. She fumed as she thought of some choice words for her soon-to-be former best friend!

"Well, don't worry," Jade said, lowering Emerald to her pillow and kissing her forehead. "Everything's going to be all right."

Luckily, tomorrow was Saturday, so they didn't have to go to school. The next day, the family gathered at breakfast. "So, did you sleep well?" Holly asked the girls.

Jade just shook her head. "Emerald had terrible nightmares," she admitted.

"Nightmares?" Holly rushed over and held Emerald in her arms. "About what?"

Sighing, Emerald spilled everything, from her before-school spat with Jade to what she'd overheard in the lunchtime chatter.

Holly just held Emerald close to her. "Don't worry, sweetheart," she assured her. "I have a feeling it was all just a big misunderstanding. You probably just didn't hear the whole story," she added. "You _had_ been _walking past_ them at the time."

Just then, the doorbell rang. "I'll get it," Jade offered, going to the door. When she opened the door, who should she see but—Kay. "What do _you_ want?" she huffed, her hands on her hips. "How could you dare show your face here after what you did to Emerald?"

"I—I just came to see her," Kay stammered. "Is she here?" she added, looking over Jade's shoulder.

Emerald looked up from Holly's embrace at that moment. When she saw Kay, she broke from the hold and tentatively made her way over. Kay just kneeled and held out her arms, smiling sadly. When Emerald was within reaching distance, she drew her in and held her close. The tears came so fast Kay couldn't stop them—her favorite little charge had been unintentionally affected by her quip, and she longed to make things right.

When she felt she was able to speak, she leaned in and whispered, "What you heard yesterday—wasn't the whole story." Then she leaned in and whispered the rest of what she'd said:

"_I was only kidding—you're destined to be BFF's, and I know it!"_

Emerald's eyes once again filled with tears, and she collapsed into Kay's arms, sobbing. "I—I love you, Miss Kay."

Kay just held her closer and kissed the tears away. "I love you, too, sweetie. If—if there's anything I can do to make it up to you, please—please let me know."

The chance came sooner than they thought. The local university was having a basketball game, and Jade, Holly, and Oliver were going. But Emerald had come down with something and couldn't go with them. That night, when Emerald had crawled into bed, Kay checked her temperature and put a damp washcloth on her forehead—she'd contracted a slight fever.

A book lay on the nearby nightstand—Jade had forgotten to put it away when she last read to Emerald. "Would you like me to read to you?" Kay offered.

Emerald managed a small smile. It had been a while since Jade had the chance, and she really missed it. "Sure," she whispered.

And that's how Oliver, Holly, and Jade found them when they came home. The university may have lost the game, but to see Kay taking over Jade's bedtime ritual, well, it made her a winner in everyone's eyes.


End file.
